He Who Protects
by Logen A Beastly
Summary: Gotei 13 after the war was shaken up and with the new captain commander being in charge. Changes are bound to take place. How will a man named " He who protects " aid the sereitei into an era of peace ? IchigoXRukia Pairing and some other pairings maybe in the future. Review Plox.
1. Chapter 1 : The Aftermath

Author's Note: Not sure where I'm going with this but I'm assuming this will be a series and not a one shot. Feel free to review and flame. :D First Fanfic in this ID but I had co-write a few Fanfic in the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

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><p>The aftermath of the quincy blood war was not what the Gotei 13's new Captain commander Shunsui Kyōraku had expected. He, being the veteran former captain of the 8th division who had experienced many wars in his younger days knew the ending to a war at this capacity will be a blood filled mess that would not be easy to clean up after. But he had not expected the sheer amount of losses the Gotei 13's divisions would have to face. The amount of battle-ready shinigami was considerably petty compared to the amount of injured shinigami that were undergoing medical treatments in the makeshift 4th division bunkers. The death of 4th division captain and the first kenpachi, Unohana Retsu was a crippling blow to the foundation of Gotei 13 for the only elite healer ever to grace sereitei was now dead. The critically injured shinigami now had to rely on the healers of the 4th division squad members that were trained by the deceased captain herself. The second blow came from the sheer amount of injured or killed captains and lieutenants leaving the divisions in the gotei 13 in chaos. The death of the well-respected young protégé, Tōshirō Hitsugaya the captain of 10th division and the fellow veteran and a close personal friend of the now captain commander, Jūshirō Ukitake, captain of the 13th division left many in a saddened state. The well respected lieutenant, Shūhei Hisagi (9th Division), Genshirō Okikiba (1st division) and Marechiyo Ōmaeda (2nd division) too fell victim to the quincy war massacre leaving the said divisions in utter chaotic state.<p>

Shunsui sighed as he pinches the bridge of his nose in a resigned manner while staring at the mostly demolished sereitei. "I swear I didn't sign up for this."

But not all seemed to be at loss for the war did come to an unexpected end. The success story of the traitor Sōsuke Aizen's twisted inhumane experiment, Ichigo Kurosaki who surpassed all the odds to become as powerful the former captain commander himself just a brief period of time came to sereitei aid in the most crucial moment to end the terror named Yhwach in an all-out battle in the king's realm. The soul king's help in the matter did not go unnoticed as his majesty was the one who blessed the shinigami substitute with immense reiatsu on a crucial time of need for the kurosaki successor to use the Final Getsuga Tenshō once again which now became his bankai form to destroy the man that reigned terror upon the Sereitei, Yhwach.

"Captain, there's much to do and I do not appreciate you pushing it onto me. Please stop lazing around and do your duty." Said the 1st Squad lieutenant, Nanao Ise while staring daggers at the back of Shunsui.

"Hai, Nanao-chan. I'm not lazing around but merely reminiscing on the recent incident." Shunsui said while pouting at Nanao.

"You should know by now that pouting will not get you out of your responsibility. Especially not when it's me you are pouting towards." Nanao retorted with a straight face.

"E-eh, but Nanao-chan!"

"No buts! Come in and do the paper works now 'Shunsui-Kun'! And maybe, just maybe I might give you some rewards for your contributions." Nanao said, smiling slyly as she walked back to the make-shift 1st squad barracks leaving a shocked and slightly blushing Shunsui staring back at her.

'Damn, I knew war would change a person but I've never heard of the change being a good one. But my Nanao-chan… ALRIGHT! TIME TO GET TO WORK! I wonder what kind of reward I would get from my precious lieutenant.' Thought Shunsui as he giddily walked back to the barracks with a dreamy look on his face.

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><p>In the Kuchiki Manor at the Noble Residence part of sereitei<p>

"Ichigo ! Wake up you ass!" Kuchiki Rukia was shaking Ichigo's torso violently in an effort to wake the soundly asleep saviour of the sereitei. The said man gently swatted Rukia's arms away in an attempt to prey her off and leave him to sleep in peace. Rukia let out a frustrated growl and tried to wake him up in a different manner. She swiftly kicked him on his ribs and saw him bolt up from his sleep and howl in pain.

"What was that for Rukia! Can't you let a man sleep in peace? Geez! I think my old man's influence on you is too damn high!" groaned Ichigo as he stood up and massaged his ribs, trying to ease the pain while glaring at the short woman sitting beside his futon.

Rukia had a smug look on her face as she was appreciating his reaction towards her kick. "Nii-sama has invited you to have breakfast with us today. So get ready! Oh and be respectful to Nii-sama since he was kind enough to allow you to stay here."

"Hey you talk as if staying here is equivalent to staying in some 5 star hotel or some shit. This place looks as bad as the whole of sereitei." Ichigo couldn't help but be amused by the confused expression on Rukia's face.

"Ichigo, what is a 5 star O-tel?"

"5 Star hotel, and it's a building where people pay to stay for a certain amount of days. Super pricy I might add. The stars indicate how great the premise's services and facilities they have. 5 star is usually the highest rating for a hotel."

"Oh. Then why do you say staying here is not equivalent to staying at this 5 star O-tel? I mean, the Kuchiki manor has almost everything!"

"Yea. It has almost everything except for the whole half of the premise is ruins from the war! The war that I won for you guys by the way. And you won't even let me sleep in peace."

Rukia was about to retort when Ichigo let out a big sigh and shoo'd Rukia out of his room to get changed and freshen up himself before going to have his breakfast with Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's adopted elder brother and the well-respected Captain of 6th Squad. Just the thought of having a sophisticated breakfast so early in the morning with a nobleman nonetheless was not what he had planned for him that morning.

After freshening up and getting dressed in the formal wears prepared by the Kuchiki Manor servants,  
>Ichigo went to the dining area to fin both Byakuya and his annoyingly short sister sitting and waiting for his arrival.<p>

"Yo, Byakuya."

"Ichigo! Greet Nii-sama with some respe-" Rukia's outburst was cut off by Byakuya's greetings of his own.

"Ichigo, have a seat here" as he pointed the set beside Rukia. Ichigo only smirked at Rukia as he sat beside her. Rukia in the other hand kept quiet throughout the breakfast but secretly shocked at the interactions between Ichigo and her Nii-sama.

"So what's next in Gotei 13? With the promotion of the new Captain Commander being Shunsui and all. Damn, I knew that old goat would be next in line but I wasn't expecting him to be in that position that fast. Pity Nanao though, now that Shunsui have the ultimate authority, He's gonna be lazing around all that much more." Ichigo stated casually to Byakuya who seemed to actually contemplate Ichigo's words.

"I believe the new Captain Commander would have to reform from his old attitude for he has a higher responsibility and with the end of a war at this capacity, there are much more to do. There's a captain's meeting later this afternoon. Be ready to attend, Ichigo."

Ichigo was taken aback by the invitation to the captain's meeting and replied "What do you mean by be ready? Since when I had to attend those boring ass meetings?"

"Since you became the hero of the sereitei." Was Byakuya's answer.

Rukia kept staring at both of their interaction with a look that could only be described as priceless as she was witnessing Ichigo whom her beloved Nii-same had hated with passion talking casually with her Nii-sama who was actually conversing back. But a small part of her felt happy that her Nii-sama was finally accepting Ichigo for who he is and talking to him casually.

'But a Kuchiki does not do casual!' Screamed her mind. What had changed between her Nii-sama and Ichigo. To make things more confusing and extremely shocking at the same time, Byakuya had actually invited Ichigo to join him for tea. The Byakuya has never invited anyone for his tea sipping sessions he held in his study room. ANYONE! Not even Rukia but now the invitation is given to Ichigo of all the people? Rukia couldn't handle all these changes and her head started to spin and hoped something would at least be same. 'I mean, Ichigo doesn't do Tea time right?' She thought as she felt that the invitation would be shot down by Ichigo and everything will go back to being normal.

"Yea sure, you gonna serve the jasmine/Sakura petal tea that you praised the other day?"

Byakuya only nodded. *THUMP!* Both Ichigo and Byakuya turned to see where the noise came from and saw Rukia fainted beside Ichigo on the floor.

"It's unbecoming of a Kuchiki to faint on the dinner table. Tsk."

Ichigo could only laugh as he carried Rukia back to her room and lay her on her bed.

To be continued ?


	2. Chapter 2 : The next step towards future

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

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><p>Rukia was abruptly awaken by the Kuchiki servant reminding her of the captain's meeting that would be taking place in half an hour.<p>

"Ugh, I feel like a brick just hit my head" she said as she rubbed the sore part of her head.

"It's because you decided to hug the floor while we were having breakfast, idiot. Seriously Rukia, one would think a Kuchiki would be a little more subtle when showing her affection for ths floor."

Rukia instantly turned towards the door to find the man who had just insulted her having a smirk. Rukia was about to retort when she remembered why exactly did she faint and pointed at him with as if he was a criminal.

"YOU! Since when you and Nii-sama became such good buddies! Nii-sama hated your guts and you never could tolerate his presence! What went down that I'm not aware of?!"

Ichigo's gaze instantly became hard as he answered "War changes people, Rukia. When you realize you just might die anytime makes you rethink your decisions in life. That's all I'll say."

"ichigo ..." Rukia can't help but feel the sting in her heart as she kept replaying what he had just told her. Rukia knew she had feelings for her saviour of countless times but never had the guts to declare her feelings towards him, afraid to lose this closeness they shared if he did not feel the same towards her. Her line of thoughts were interrupted when Ichigo informed her he is about leave for the meeting and expects her by the main entrance of the manor in 10 minutes and left Rukia to drown in her thoughts.

After both Rukia and Byakuya gathered at the front gate, they started their journey towards the 1st Squad barracks to attend the meeting. Rukia couldn't help but notice the Kuchiki clan head and the substitute shinigami having small conversations every now and then.

"Well I'm glad to see all the captains actually made it on time for this meeting!" Announced the flamboyant Captain Commander as he looked around the room.

"As you can see, we seem to have a few familiar faces here who aren't exactly captains nor Lieutenants. At least not yet!" explained Shunsui as he pointed towards a few people present in the meeting.

"So we the Gotei 13 have 13 squads and-"

"Can we get on with it already you fruity goat?" Exclaimed Zaraki Kenpachi, the captain of the 11th Squad interrupting Shunsui's speech.

"Yare~yare.. Impatient aren't we, Captain Zaraki? Well then, let me get down to it but I must say, fruity goat sounds rather creative for a prawn-sized brain of yours." Shunsui replied which earned a collective snickers from the attendants. Zaraki seemingly unfazed by the insult only grined like a monster that he is at the attendants who snickered at his expense leaving them feeling terrified of the repercussions later on.

"Anyway. I'm planning on promoting new captains for the 4th, 10th and 13th Squad and Lieutenants for 1st, 2nd and 9th Squad. We will elect the captains based on the votes from the remaining captains and the majority votes will win the poll. Any objections?" When he heard none, he continued with the election of the new captains first.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! Please come forth. You have personally been nominated by me, Captain Zaraki and Captain Byakuya to be elected to soul society. You must know that with your level of reiatsu and skills, you can't and won't be able to just be any of the squad member and no one here would want to have you as a lieutenant either." Stated Shunsui.

Ichigo couldn't help but scowl at this new information. He was expecting to join any of the squad as a normal member and just laze around all day and the only responsibility he would have is to petrol the perimeter and slay low level hollows. But now he knows he can just throw his hopes to chill for the rest of the eternity away into the recycle bin.

With a little bit of hope, Ichigo replied "I mean, there's no way no one here would not want to have me as their lieutenant right? There's gotta be someone?" He looked around with hopeful eyes only to see the captains avoiding eye contact with him. Not even Byakuya wanted him on his squad. The only one who made eye contact with him was Kenpachi and Shunsui took notice of this and immediately retorted "No Zaraki-kun. You can't have Ichigo-kun on your squad. Both of you will destroy the remaining of Sereitei on the name of sparring and I can't have that in my administration."

"Tch! Asshole." Zaraki muttered to himself.

Content with Zaraki's reaction, Shunsui continued with his speech "So, Now I hereby seek votes from the Gotei 13 Captains in the matter of Ichigo Kurosaki for captaincy. Please raise your hand if you agree."

The whole room was filled with raised hands and Yachiru Kusajishi, the lieutenant of 11th Squad went as far as raising both hands causing her to lose balance from Zaraki's shoulder and fell back with a small thump.

"That settles it then. Ichigo Kurosaki you are now being called forth for captaincy position for the 13th Squad. Do you accept this responsibility of a captain and promise to lead the Squad by example and abide the rules of Sereitei?"

"You ask as if I have a choice here, Shunsui." Ichigo retorted.

"Maa~ Ichigo-Kun, you do have a choice in this matter, it's either be a captain or a really powerful yet poor shinigami that lives off other's kindness. It's your choice after all." Shunsui smirked at the tick mark that appeared on Ichigo's head.

'That bastard.' Ichigo thought as he looked at Rukia to see if she wants him to take it. Rukia catches his glance and looked back with pride-filled eyes and nodded at him. Ichigo sighed as he turned around and asked "When do I start?"

Shunsui was happy with his ability to trap Ichigo into agreeing with the promotion and continued with a smug look on his face "The next will not be a vote based promotion but a re-election of a former captain. To be more specific, the re-election of Isshin Kurosaki or should I call you Isshin Shiba?"

"Kurosaki is fine. I mean if I changed back my name, my son's name will follow my last name too. And no one would want to date someone with the name like Ichigo Shiba. Doesn't that soun-"

Ichigo's fist landed square on Issin's face and threw him into the wall. Ichigo stood there with a reddened face and a deep scowl "DON'T YOU KNOW WHEN TO STOP HUMILIATING ME YOU OLD GOAT FACE?!"

"B-but my son, I was looking out for your best interest! Do you really want to be a Shiba that badly?!"

"This has nothing to do with the name dad! Shunsui, do you really want this idiot running a squad as a captain?"

"My son, how dare you belittle me when you came from this scortu-" Ichigo punched him again on the guts cutting off the sentence before he could finish it.

"GOD! Would you just stop?"

As amusing as this was, Shunsui knew he had to stop this little show or they won't be able to go through with this meeting and decided to butt in "EHEEMM!"

Both Isshin and Ichigo snapped out of their little show of tough love and realized they were in a meeting in front of other captains and decided not to continue on this humiliating display of drama and sunk back to their original position.

"Anyway as I was saying, Isshin Kurosaki will be re-instated to a captain but will be running a new squad instead of his old one. He will now be the captain of the 4th squad seeing how he was a doctor in the world of the living." Content with no captain opposing the idea and moved on the next squad needing a new captain. " So, for the next…"

"It's gonna be a long day isn't it." Muttered Ichigo seemingly to no one and heard a little hum from the 6th Squad captain indicating it is indeed going to be a long day.

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><p>To be continued..?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 : Progress

Guys .. Seriously.. I would appreciate a little more reviews whether it's flames or compliments or advices .. Come on now .. don't go soft on me.

Disclaimer : I do not own Bleach.

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><p>"Good morning Captain Ichigo!" Bowed and exclaimed an unnamed shinigami who was passing by the former shinigami substitute.<p>

'Captain Ichigo huh.'

It was a weird feeling to wear the white haori. The white haori has always been exclusive to only the ones who are considered a valuable asset to Sereitei and the elite of the masses. Only those who are superior in power, participated in vast amounts of battles and have reached the 'Ban' release could be nominated and even then, the captaincy is not guaranteed. So in retrospect, to be added to a list filled with handful of former and current captains were rather humbling. Lost in his thoughts, Ichigo accidentally banged on the door of his squad barracks and fell backwards with a thump and landed on his rear end.

"Motherfuc-"

"Your first day in charge and you are already making a fool out of yourself eh, Ichigo?" Smirked Rukia as she knelt down beside Ichigo to inspect for any injuries only to be swatted away by the grumpy Captain.

"Feh, the day a door hurts me will be the day I bow down to Byakuya." Exclaimed Ichigo, wearing his iconic scowl getting up from the ground and dusted himself. "And it's Captain Ichigo for you, Lieutenant Rukia." Now Ichigo smirked as he saw Rukia wrinkling her nose in acknowledgement of the current state of their professional relationship. Her brash and stupidly strong student is now her Captain.

"Gaah! Why did I even decide to take up the mission to go to Kakakura town and had to meet up with this ego-maniac!" She thought out loud as she stomped her foot on the ground in an angered manner.

"Because If you didn't, I wouldn't have met with someone as amazing as you, minus the arrogance and childishness of course." Ichigo replied as he put his hands on Rukia's shoulder to stop her actions.

Rukia couldn't believe what she was hearing as she could only look at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the whole of sereitei to hide the dominant presence of her blush spreading throughout her cheeks.

Ichigo, who became frustrated at Rukia's lack of reply at his embarrassing claims held both out both of his palm and cupped Rukia's face and made her face him. "I-ichi-go ..." Rukia could not process what was going on as she could only stare at his scowling face which was now getting closer and closer to a point of their breath mixing with each other.

"I meant everything I said, by the way." Whispered Ichigo as he, shocked at his own braveness and with a burning resolution, he decided to move further to capture her inviting lips as he could see Rukia slowly closing her eyes and embracing his actions. He was half an inch away from her lips and was about to move in for the kill when he heard the voice of a character he deemed dead a long time ago.

'_**Hello, King**_**!**'

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><p>Rukia felt an abrupt push and she lost balance landing on her rear. "Kya!" She felt hurt and furious at Ichigo's actions and was about to voice her anger when she saw the pure look of horror on Ichigo's face and felt devastated at the thought of Ichigo finding her revolting to a point of horror and felt tears battling to escape her eyes and stood up to run away from the man who had hurt her emotionally when she felt a strong arm engulfing her in its embrace.<p>

When Ichigo came back to his senses and realized what he had done, he swiftly reached out to Rukia and pulled her into his embrace as he knew from the look in her eyes she felt devastated at his act of rejection. "Rukia! Please stop struggling .. Damn it! Midget! Stop moving and let me explain. Come on Rukes. Please?" Ichigo pleaded at Rukia to give him a chance to explain his abrupt action.

"Why explain. I know I'm too revolting for you to push me away that fast. And that look of horror. You must despise me huh." Rukia started bleating into Ichigo's chest while banging on it as hard as she could.

"Rukes, please. I'm sorry for my action but It wasn't it isn't what you think. Come on Rukia, I love you too much to think of you anything other than stunningly beautiful. Please.. stop crying. I'm sorry."

Rukia felt her heart skip a beat as she heard him say those words '_He .. he loves m-me ?_' They stood there for a long period of time in silent as Rukia could reconstruct her line of thought and Ichigo moving his hand up and down her back to soothe her.

After what felt like a whole year Ichigo heard "Then why did you push me away?"

Rukia, who has finally stopped bawling her eyes out looked at him with hopeful eyes that Ichigo wasn't lying about his confession towards her, waiting for a reply.

"Rukia, I-I'm sorry. Just know that it's not you that I was horrified. It.. It's something else. I ... I gotta get something straight. How about you go into the barracks and brief the recruits while I get my thoughts together. I promise I'll tell you later."

Rukia was certainly not happy with her Captain's explanation but decided to let it slide for now. After all, the mighty hero of sereitei who was her captain had just declared his undying love towards her. "Fine. But I expect a good explanation for the shit you pulled off here." With that said, Rukia was about to walk into the barrack when she felt Ichigo pull her into him again and felt his lips on hers for a few second before Ichigo pulled away and looked away from her, trying to hide his blush from her eyes. "Now shooo! Captain's orders!" Ichigo told her off as he still didn't dare to look into Rukia's eyes as she only could nod and giddily walk into the barrack heading to the Barrack training ground where all the 13th Squad members were assembled.

"Damn. Son I was about to come over to your barrack to see if you're doing well but I must say, You were doing exceptionally well. In fact, you make this old man very proud of you!"

Snapping out of his muse, Ichigo turned around to see his dad who was now the captain of the 4th Squad grinning like a mad man while wiggling his eyebrows at him.

"Dad, Don't start. Actually I got something I need to talk to you about. " Ichigo said with a serious look that told Isshin his son indeed had something important to discuss with him, not as dad and son, but a junior seeking guidance from a veteran. Isshin nodded at Ichigo, informing him that he had the captain of the 4th squad's complete attention.

Ichigo swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat as he told Isshin "He's back."

Isshin was first confused at the statement but he knew clearly what Ichigo meant when he saw Ichigo pointing at his chest.

"B-but Ichigo, my son. That is impossible. I mean, you lost you-"

"Dad. He is back."

Sighing , Isshin said with a distressed tone "This ... This is bad ..."

To be continued ?


	4. Chapter 4 : A Purpose To Fight For

Thanks for the reviews guys. "FUCKING FINALLY!" Ehm.. anyways .. for those who want's to know the plot, KEEP READING !

AND KEEP REVIEWING! I lose motivation fast if I feel like people don't give a damn. I know ... I'm pathetic.. D:

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

"_Zangetsu"  
><em>

"Normal Conversations"

'Inner thoughts'

"**That badass hollow"**

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><p>The grey clouds hovering above the the remaining of once a great city filled willed with countless shinigami was synonymous with how Ichigo was feeling now. Ichigo recalled the discussion he had with his dad a few hours ago.<p>

_-flashback-_

"You know what this means right?" Isshin asked, hoping his son understood the severity of the problem at hand.

"Yeah. But you gotta keep this a secret alright. This place is already having shit load of trust issues. I don't want them to think of me as a threat." Ichigo gingerly replied.

"So how do you plan to deal with **'**it**'. **I can ask Urahara to help you solve this problem. Maybe he can come out with something." Isshin informed him.

Something snapped within Ichigo when he heard Isshin referring to to his hollow as '**it**' and barked back "the '**it**' that you referred to is a part of me dad. Show him some god damn resp-" Ichigo saw Isshin's expression went from passive to shocked at his rebuttal and realised whe he had just done and quickly apologised "S-sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-i think I gotta go."

Ichigo was about to leave when Isshin put his hand on his shoulder to hold him from leaving. "Ichigo. Is '**it**'-" he saw Ichigo frown at that statement. "Is 'he' influencing you from your emotional standpoint?"

Ichigo thought for a moment and was about to reply when he heard the voice of a man he had not heard talk in a long time.

_'I can assure you that he is not influencing your emotions'_

'Zangetsu!'

'_It has been a while, Ichigo. I'm shocked you still remember me.'_

'B-but I thought your existence was destroyed when I unlocked my true power at the king's realm?'

'_If I was destroyed, you would be powerless. My form was dispersed due to the strain you had while using your ban release over an extensive period. It took a while to reconstruct myself back into my form.'_

'Well I'm glad to have you back, old man.'

_"_ICHIGO! WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME, YOU DISRESPECTFUL SON! WHERE DID I GO WR-" Isshin couldn't complete his sentence as his face met with a fist that dropped him where he stood.

"Damn it goat face! Do you really have to shout into my ears?" Ichigo frowned as he nurtured his fist.

"But! My son you were spaced out! I thought you were ignoring me!" Isshin bawled while rubbing his face. And in an instant, he stood back up and his expression changed back to being serious.

"So, why were you spaced out? Was it the hollow again?" Asked the 4th squad captain.

"Naah. It was zangetsu. Look, pops. I think I'll deal with this on my own. And if things seems like it might get out of hand, I'll find Urahara-san. Ok?" Ichigo nodded to his father and walked off into the 13th division barracks leaving Isshin alone to his thoughts.

'I hope things won't get out of hands. For you and Rukia's sake.' Isshin thought as he too left to his barracks.

-_flashback end-_

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><p>Rukia was seen hopping around the whole day with a big smile on her face and it pretty much threw the squad members off as they were too used to the grumpy and strict matriarch ordering them around. But the 3rd seats, Kiyone and Sentaro knew why their lieutenant was feeling so happy today for they saw the whole confession from the barrack tower's windows.<p>

"Rukia-sama! The paperworks for today are done. Is there anything you would like for us to do?" Sentaro asked.

"No I did the paperworks, Rukia-sama! Order me something to do instead!" Kiyone exclaimed.

both of them started pulling each other's uniform in an attempt to get rid of the other.

"Sentaro-san, kiyone-san? Can **both** of you gather the whole squad to the training ground for the new captain to introduce himself?" Rukia asked politely and emphasised on the word '**Both**'.

"Yes ma'am!" They both saluted and dashed away to complete their task at hand.

"You sure seem to be in a good mood. Anything special happened?"

Rukia turned around to find her long time friend and the lieutenant of her brother's squad, Abarai Renji smirking at her.

"Can't I be in a good mood once in a while, fool?" Rukia replied as she walkes towards him.

"What are you doing here anyway? Didn't Nee-sama give u anything to do?"

"Captain sent me to pass Ichigo these documents only to find you here acting all giggly and shit." Renji informed her as he passed her the documents when he heard Ichigo's voice.

"Damn, Rukia. Who turned up the lightings in this room? Oh wait. Its just your obnoxiously red hair."

"Tch. Says the man with a carrot colored hair." Renji rebutted.

"Well at least mine doesn't scream danger like yours does, you red haired freakshow!"

"Well fuck you berry. I bet you don't even get girls with that frown of yours and that bright orange hair, you delinquent wannabe!"

"Oh but you are mistaken, lieutenant Renji. I don't need shit load of girls flocking me, which they do thanks to my popularity but I only need one girls and I got her!" Ichigo smirked as he moved behind Rukia and hugged her from behind, leaving her blushing like mad woman, and Renji looking like a fish out of water.

"Wha-when! How! Oh my captain is not gonna like this. Damn Ichigo, and I thought you'll be a fine captain but I guess we should start looking for a new candidate since Captain Byakuya is going to tear you apart." Renji started walking away but stopped and turned around to meet Ichigo's eyes "congratulations on getting her thought." with that, Renji swiftly left, leaving them alone in the hallway. Ichigo knew the hidden message behind the last comment 'congratulations on getting to her before me. Hope you make her happy.' Ichigo felt bad for Renji but one of the things the war taught him was seize ehat you want while you can or you'll find yourself regretting your decisions while you are lying on the ground, slowly dying and not being able to do what you wanted.

Rukia meekly looked up to see Ichigo spacing out and decided to snap him out of his daydream "that was rather brave of you captain. I didn't think you had it in you." Rukia joked while she hugged him.

"You make me do things that I didn't think I could do." Was Ichigo's short answer but Rukia knew exactly what he meant. She just stood there in Ichigo's embrace for a few moments before reluctantly tore herself from his embrace and looked at him with a smile and asked "So are you ready to ho meet your squad, Captain?"

"No. But I have to at some point right?" Ichigo sighed as he let Rukia lead him to his squad for briefing session.

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><p>Ichigo followed Rukia to a clearing where he could see hundreds of shinigami gathered in the middle of the ground. "All these shinigami are under my leadership?" Ichigo asked his lieutenant, feeling astounded at the amount of shinigami present.<p>

Rukia cleared her throat and commanded the squad to get into formation and pay attention to the new captain's announcement. She nudged Ichigo to step forward and acknowledge the crowd which he did with a frown.

"Alright. Listen up and listen well. I'm your new captain, Kurosaki Ichigo. But you will address me as Captain Ichigo. I don't know how the squad was when Ukitake-san was in charge, but things will be different while I'm here as your Captain. I never liked being weak and powerless because I felt the need to live up to my name. My name is Ichigo and it means "He who protects" and I expect-no. I demand you to help me live up to my name sake by protecting that's precious for you. I will help you gain knowledge and the power you need to protect for we, the 13th Squad is the symbol of hope the sereitei needs. I will do everything in my power to be your pillar of strength so you can be the symbol of hope. Anyone who wants to laze around can transfer to the 6th squad."

Ichigo spared a glance at his lieutenant who was fuming at her captain's comment on her precious Nee-sama's squad but bit back a retort. Ichigo could hear a few snickers from the squad at his comment and continued his speech "Don't tell anyone I told you that though." This earned a few more snickers. "Anyway, back to the topic. So who wants to transfer to other squad and who want to stay back with me?" When Ichigo was content at none of his squad member wanting to leave, he barked out "SQUAD DISMISSED!"

The 13th Squad replied with a loud and clear "YES CAPTAIN!" and dispersed back to their original duties.  
>Ichigo turned around to see Rukia smiling warmly at him which made him smile back a rare Ichigo smile which in return melted Rukia's heart. She stepped towards him and asked "Since when you knew how to give out charismatic speeches? Hem?"<p>

Ichigo only shrugged and walked towards the door when he felt a hand on his arms.

"I hope you aren't avoiding a certain issue here, Ichi."

"That's Captain for you, lieutenant." Ichigo replied playfully.

"Fine, _CAPTAIN._ So are you going to explain or am I suppose to beat the information out of you?"

Ichigo went back to his wearing his frown and asked "What are you talking about, Rukes?"

"You know exactly what I want to know, Ichi. Why did you push me away and why did you look so horrified?" Rukia crossed her arms as she waited for Ichigo to give her clarification on this subject.

Ichigo sighed and replied "I heard my hollow.-" Ichigo saw the Rukia's expression went from pissed off to panic stricken look and immediately tried to calm her down "Hey, don't worry alright? I'll deal with this. Don't worry about it. And can you please keep this to yourself? I don't want people looking at me weird." Ichigo tried to make a joke to lift her mood which earned him a little chuckle from Rukia.

"Your hair makes people look at you weird." She said as she tried to shrug off the heaviness of the news she had just heard but was failing miserably. "You know you can count on me right, Ichigo?"

"Yeah. I do." Ichigo flashed a small smile at Rukia which earned him a small smile back in return from Rukia.

Ichigo was about to say something when he heard the voice of his animalistic dark side again.

"**So King, how exactly do you plan to deal with me? I'd like to give you some suggestion if you are interested. EAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! **"

"..." The sickening laughter of his hollow left Ichigo speechless.

'Shit. I have to fix this and fix this fast.'

To be continued?


	5. Chapter 5 : The shorter blade

MugetsuIchigo : The story doesn't follow the main storyline because this is my take on the series. - Fan Faction - the loopholes in the story will be filled in the future chapters. So, Patience my friend. XD

Nfs711 : Appreciate the correction! :) I'll keep it in mind. and keep reviewing ! (Y)\

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.<p>

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><p>'Damn it, Ichi. Where are you! ' Rukia thought as she stomped through the streets of seireitei grumpily. Anyone who noticed her knew not to approach her as they could visibly see her rage seeping out of her body. "ARGGH! HOW DARE HE PUSH ALL THE WORK TO ME AND GO MISSING ON THE 1ST WEEK OF HIS JOB!" Rukia exclaimed out loud.<p>

"Yo! Rukia! Wait up! What crawled up your ass and died?!"

Rukia turned around to see her childhood red haired friend walking towards her. Rukia glared at him at his statement but decided to spare his shin and answered "That idiot Captain of mine skipped out on his duty and just went missing! How dare he!"

"Oh, If you are looking for Ichigo, I saw him at the 4th squad barracks." Replied Renji, casually.

"The 4th barracks? Why woul-OH MY GOD! IS HE HURT?!" Rukia was now grabbing hold of his haori and violently shaking it.

"G..H...e.. d..a...m.." Renji tore off himself from Rukia's vice grip and shouted at her " DAMN IT YOU VIOLENT WENCH! Geez .. chill out will ya ? No he didn't look hurt. Maybe he just went to visit his old man for somethi- Hey! Where are you goi-" Renji couldn't finish his sentence as he saw Rukia bolt towards the direction of the 4th barrack.

'Damn.. guess I should inform the Captain Commander that we need a new captain now that Rukia is gonna kill Ichigo off.' Mused Renji as he continued to walk down the streets of seireitei.

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><p>- 4th Barrack – <p>

Isshin was staring at an unconscious Captain of the 13th squad captain, laying on one of the bed.

'I wonder if he would feel the pain in his spiritual realm if I inflict pain on him now. Hmm ... Lets find out shall we?' Isshin grinned like a maniac and started dealing as much pain as possible to the unconscious Ichigo. 

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><p>- Ichigo's Inner realm –<p>

'_**King. Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see your least favourite soul all alive and shit?'**_

'Why are you here? I thought you were destroyed when **that** happened.' 

'_**Well, unlucky for you, I am an actual part of your soul that was born when you were born. I die when you die.'**_

'So I'm guessing you want to take control of my body again?' 

'_**Well, unless you are gonna give me that worthlessly weak body of yours, no. I don't want your body.'**_

'Then, what do you want?' 

'_**Your zampaktou.'**_

Ichigo and Zangetsu's eye widened at the hollow's answer. 

'_You insolent fool. You think I will allow you to have control over me? Choose your next words wisely or I will bestow upon you pain you will forever suffer, pest.' Zangetsu spat dangerously as he withdrew his weapon and pointed at the hollow._

'Zangetsu, back off. I'll deal with him. Lets not get reckless and do things we will regret later.' 

Zangetsu looked over to Ichigo for a few seconds and backed out of his stance, withdrawing his sword. 

'Now. What do you mean by my zampaktou?' 

'_**I don't like that faggot's tone. I should watch what i'm saying? Dipshit, I AIN'T AFRAID OF YOU. BUT YOU SHOULD BE AFRA-' **_ The hollow's speech was cut short by a sharp zangetsu inches away from his throat. Ichigo looked at him as he moved the zampaktou nearer to his throat, drawing first blood. 

'I would appreciate you showing Zangetsu some god damn respect or I'll show you exactly why you call me king.' Ichigo stated with a cold tone. 

'_**Tch. You think you can take me on?'**_

'I know I can take you on.' 

'_**Well then, let's see who gets to be who's lil bitch with a little battle, shall we KING? And when I'm through with you, I'll go have a little fun with that lil Queeny of yours. Her neck looks damn delicious . TO BREAK!'**_

Hollow Ichigo was barely able to block the attack from Ichigo as he moved back a few feet. Ichigo flashed forward toward the hollow with godly speed with his zampaktou forward only to be blocked by the the hollow. He came close to Ichigo's face as he whispered '_**LET'S DANCE!**_' 

After destroying a few horizontal buildings, both the hollow and Ichigo was laying in the middle of the battlefield, breathing shallowly. 

'_If both of you are done destroying my home, can you explain what you meant when you said you wanted me?'_

'_**I do-n't .. I ..damn.. breath... I don't want.. you, you Gaylord. I want the other zampaktou.'**_

'Wh..what... god.. hold on...' Ichigo exhaled out a big breath and continued 'What you mean you want the other zampaktou? I thought both the sword is Zangetsu.' Ichigo stated as he looked over to where Zangetsu was standing, looking for an explaination. 

'_Well, Not exactly. The shorter sword is indeed a part of me, but the manifestation is the only part of me that exist in the blade. The existence of the shorter zampaktou is still a mystery to me.'_

'And what exactly do you want to do with the smaller blade?' Ichigo sat up and stared at the hollow that was still laying on the ground. 

'_**I'd like to wipe myself with that kitchen knife.'**_

Ichigo and Zangetsu both rolled their eyes at the hollow's sarcasm. 'If you aren't going to answer seriously, I'm not going to acknowledge you anymore.' 

'_**What are you, my mom? Stop saying stupid shit like that. I want to have my essence engraved into that blade.'**_

Ichigo looked at the hollow with suspicion. 'What exactly do you get out of this?' 

'_freedom.' _Ichigo's eyes widened at Zangetsu's statement. 

'What do you mean, old man?' 

'_I'll have you know, I no longer look old. Please refrain yourself from calling me that.'_

'Alright, Sorry. So you were saying?' 

'_It's exactly as I said, Freedom. By engraving his essence into the blade, he will be able to manifest out of your body without disrupting both your consciousness. But I sense a deeper meaning behind his request. I do not know what it is but allowing him to have control over the other zampaktou will be gamble.'_

'_**Heh. Gamble? You know what was a gamble? You, teaching him the final release. Look how that turned out for you?'**_

'Can you stop insulting him? I forced him to teach me alright ? geez..' 

'_**I fuckin don't care about your past choices. I want results now. I want the zampaktou. You gonna allow me or should I just start rampaging into that shithole city you live in.'**_

'Do you really have to cause destruction everywhere you go?' 

'_He is the being born from your instinct. He knows no boundries.'_

Ichigo sighed as he thought about the request. After what seemed to be a long time, I chigo replied 'Ok. I'll allow you to take the smaller zampaktou.' Ichigo stared at the hollow, which had a frown on his face hearing Ichigo's decision. 

'_**What are you planning, King? You are being awfully kind with your decision. Don't fuck with me ki-'**_

'I'm not scheming anything. If that's all, I'll be going now.' Ichigo turned around to leave when he heard the hollow call out to him. 

'_**King, you better not regret your decision later on.'**_

'I hope so too..' 

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><p>- 4th Barrack -<p>

"URGH.. Shit..THE FUCK! WHY DOES MY BODY HURT SO BADLY?" Ichigo groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Ah Ichigo, my son! Did you feel any pain while you were in your inner realm?" Isshin looked at him with interest.

"What did you- Argh- do, Goat chin!?" Ichigo asked, threateningly.

"Uh, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING~~" Isshin quickly skipped out of the room, leaving a fumed and hurt Ichigo alone.

"Damn YOU OLD FART!" Ichigo shouted after his fading figure as he saw a fuming Rukia barging into the room and launched herself onto Ichigo.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO SKIP ON YOUR WORK AND LAY AROUND LAZILY!" Rukia shrieked as she violently kicked Ichigo's ribs.

"OUCH! Rukia ! Stop ! I'm hurting ! Shit .. OIY! STOP IT! " Ichigo groaned out loud as he tried to protect himself from her abusive assaults. Desperate to stop the incoming pain, He grabbed hold of Rukia's arm and pulled her down to him and flipped her over to place her under him as he hovered over her.

"Calm down, midget. I'm already hurting and you aren't helping at all."

Rukia stopped struggling and looked up only to realize how close his face was and started blushing. Ichigo's eyes slowly traced down from her blush to her lips, and gave her a quick glance to see if she'd allow him to claim her lips. When she edged her face higher, Ichigo took it as an open invitation for him to claim her lips and moved closer and stopped right before he claimed what's his and whispered "Beautiful.." before viciously attacking her lips which she replied with the equal ferocity.

TO BE CONTINUED?

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